I have spent a few hours this fine Tuesday afternoon doing in depth character studies for my Finding Hope series. I found a wonderful questionnaire online to help with this tedious work (questionnaire) and have actually enjoyed myself immensely. But there is no denying that it is hard work. The questions cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from anything like hair color to clothing to style of speech and how a character expresses anger and what their core beliefs are. It's been a lot of work and a lot of time (and I've only done two characters so far) but I am learning a lot about these people who have taken up residence in my head and on paper and that is always fun for me.
Also, knowing your characters so well adds a deepness and richness to the stories you write, even when all of that information doesn't make it onto the page. Pieces of it seep in here and there and add something beautiful to the story. It is more complete and whole when you know your characters well. The readers may never know everything about your characters, but when you do, you write a better story. So that is why I have been hurting my brain all afternoon trying to understand who my characters are and what makes them tick.
My work space is closer to normal today. Messy :)
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